The Challenge your own way

Living smoke-free is one of the best decisions a person can make for his or her health, and among the people in your circle there must certainly be smokers who want to quit and people who want to protect themselves – and protect their loved ones – from the dangers of tobacco smoke.

Support them by promoting the Quit to Win! Challenge in your organization. By publicizing the Challenge, you foster a reduction in tobacco use and in so doing will contribute to:

• Improving the health of smokers and of the people around them
• Stimulating a spirit of mutual help and respect
• Demonstrating the commitment of your organization to the good health and well-being of the people working there

And that’s not all! Businesses who really care about the health of their employees enjoy other advantages:

• A decrease in absenteeism
• Greater resistance to stress
• Reduction in health-insurance costs
• Improvement in productivity

According to the Conference Board of Canada (2006),* an employer must pay out an average of $3,400 more annually for an employee who smokes than for a non-smoker employee. Among other things, the costs associated with the drop in productivity owing to cigarette breaks with an employee who smokes are $3,053 a year, and those linked to a rise in absenteeism, $323.

Reference
*Conference Board of Canada (2006). Smoking and the Bottom Line: Updating the Costs of Smoking in the Workplace.